major arcana

Waxing Poetic – The Hanged Man

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The Major Arcana card that identify most strongly with, and what it means to me.

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The Hanged Man reminds me that each hurdle I come upon (of which there have been many, and will surely be many more) is an opportunity for betterment in some way, not a road block.

The card says to me that it’s okay to have a life filled with struggles and hurdles, strife and discord, woe and adversity. These things are lessons in life that teach me how to become better. Better at the things I want to do… Better at the way I find my joy… And, just an all around better person as a whole.

The Hanged Man is a reminder that these things are there not to drag me down and make me miserable. Instead, they are there to create perspective, wisdom, and strength, as well as to foster deeper roots within myself and my life with which to anchor me through the hardest parts, like a tree standing strong in a storm is anchored deep within the soil.

Learning lessons and learning different perspectives is not always pleasant. It’s painful and uncomfortable and extremely awkward. To me the Hanged Man is a representation of how these struggles hold immeasurable worth, if I’m willing to look beyond the discomfort to see what’s waiting there for me to learn.

 

Perspectives

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on staying present and mindful in the moment as a way of developing better concentration and focus not jus in those moments but in life as a whole. Hi

Today’s draw is the twelfth card in the Major Arcana, which is the Hanged Man. This card, like all Major Arcana cards, is a “big picture” card rather than dealing with only one aspect of the human experience. The Hanged Man is my favorite card in the tarot, snd is a representation of taking s step back in order to gain a new perspective.

Today’s card is another push within the currently running theme concerning new perspectives where my family is concerned. I don’t see this as I would a stalker card, where I’m just not getting the message. Instead, the repeat themes using different cards feels more like reminders and encouragement.

I am doing my best to keep an open mind where they are concerned and not allow their past behaviors to influence my perceptions or expectations. This doesn’t mean I am leaving myself wide open to be hurt or abused, only that I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Turning Over a New Leaf?

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and twenty seconds long, and focused on the tone of our inner talk with ourselves.

The meditation specifically focused on questions that we ask ourselves, and whether these questions are fostering curiosity and exploration… or if they are self-defeating.

I think this is a good examination of our self talk, but I think it is limiting to consider only the questions we ask ourselves, instead of the inner discussions we have with ourselves as a whole.

The meditation was relaxing, and I even got a little bit of peace and quiet to do it by myself without somebody wandering into the room.

Today’s draw is the lovers card of the major arcana, which is a representation of choices, harmony, love and relationships, and the alignment of values between two or more parties.

The Lovers card is an encouragement to make the choice to give my family here a chance. Something has changed. There are still the occasional snide comment or ugly remark, but the lions share of the venom is missing compared to past experiences visiting this side of the family. Also missing are the sneaky, vindictive passive-aggressive tricks that used to be so common.

Whatever it is that made this change, I’m set a little off kilter by it and keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Today’s card is asking me to consider that maybe there isn’t another shoe. Maybe these changes are genuine and sincere.

This doesn’t mean I need to make up my mind right at this moment… but it is something to take into account and consider.

You Have What You Need

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Today’s meditation was twenty minutes long, and was not a guided meditation.   Instead, I settled in to focus solely on my breathing and a full body scan that started at the top of my head and worked its way down through my body, one part at a time, to the tips of my toes.  I then expanded that awareness back up through my entire body, and outward into my environment.

Today’s draw is the 17th card in the Major Arcana, the Star card. This card is a representation of hope and/or despair, faith and/or loss of faith, renewal, spirituality, and disconnection and/or interconnectedness.  Often, when I see this card, I read it as that interconnectedness and faith, especially in a one-card draw where there is no other cards to turn the meaning in a different direction.

The imagery for the star card in this deck has an otter with its belly exposed, eyes filled with alert interest while comfortable within his environment.   His environment supports him, all that he needs surrounding him and providing for him. What I see is a deep connection to environment and nature, while allowing openness and vulnerability.

This is an important message about trusting that life will provide for you.  Trusting your connection with what fills you with comfort.  It’s a message about not just trusting yourself, but in life itself and your environment, that it will assist you and support you.

Sometimes I feel like I have to do everything myself, and I push myself hard to make sure things are secure and I am provided for.   This card’s appearance is a reminder that I AM provided for.  I don’t have to be that towering push for strength all the time, nor do I always need to fight for every little thing I have.

It’s okay to let go and wallow in what you have, now and then, rather than always pushing for more.

Deck Used: Stolen Child Tarot

Sometimes Shit Falls Apart

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on how the benefits of a calm mind created by daily meditation assists in a better life.

This was a very apropos topic, considering the card that I pulled today (more on that below), but I do agree with the topic for the guided meditation today.   I have noticed that on the days where I do not manage to fit my meditation in during my morning routine, that the day seems harder, longer… and just overall a bit more stressful.

On a side note, something else I’ve noticed is that if I hit the snooze in the morning… I feel way crappier when I get up (and throughout the day) than I do if I just get my ass out of bed when the alarm goes off the first time.    I think I’m going to have to ban myself from hitting snooze, or rolling back over for more sleep when I wake up early on a day I don’t need to.

Today’s draw is the Tower card of the Major Arcana.  This is a card that is representative of sudden, abrupt, and unavoidable change.  I think that a lot of people look at this card and have an immediate “oh shit” moment, and honestly?  Me too.  Not because I think it is a bad card.  I don’t.   But, like many people, I hate the process of change.  The end result?  Probably great… usually great.  You adapt and you move on.   The process?  That shit sucks.

When I look at this card, I see that ‘oh shit’ moment.   I see the struggle, as the beavers prepare to fell the tree and the bird that called the tree home grabs what he can and makes a run for it.

What I see isn’t something I see.  It’s something I feel when I look at the card, but am unable to pick apart and explain HOW I get there.   And that is that evolution is inevitable and required.   Shit has to fall apart in order to make way for better shit to come forth.  Sometimes?  It feels like the end of the world, but like the depression that sometimes nips at my heels and at other times swallows me whole… there IS an end to the chaos, and things always fall back into balance again in the end.   The key is to ride it out, and strive to stay safe through the process.

Deck Used: Stolen Child Tarot

 

Shelter In the Storm

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on finding gratitude for the good times through experiencing the bad ones.

Honestly?  This is one of the main ways in which I connect with gratitude.  There have been so many things that have gone on in my life… that I have lived through, survived, worked around, etc.  My connection with  gratitude is easy when I look back at these times and compare them with what I have (and where I am) now.

I also think that is something that a lot of people forget to consider.  So many wallow in the experiences of their past  and how they wish things had been different, or the effects that those experiences have had on their present or future.   But it is much more rare to find those that look at those past experiences and accept them as lessons learned, and say “thank god that’s over and no longer my situation”.   I think this is an important part of the healing process.

Today’s draw is the Empress card, which is the 3rd card in the Major Arcana.

I love the imagery for the Empress in this card, and it speaks to me really deeply right now.  Delving into the subdrop is a difficult process that makes you feel small and vulnerable.  Today’s card is a reminder that my “Empress” is right within my reach, only a text or message away.  That supportive energy, that protective bulk, and that calming influence is hovering right behind me, ready to step in as soon as I reach out for it.

I love you, man.  Even with the subdrop.

The traditional meaning of the Empress card is one of strong nurturing energy.  She is the mother, fertile and comforting.  She is the queen, strong and supportive.  This card can also mean dependency upon another, and I think that in today’s interpretation, it is all of the above.

Deck Used: The Stolen Child Tarot